$3-Million Price Set for Home of Chancellors

A minimum sale price of $3 million was set Tuesday for the controversial Bel-Air estate that had been the residence for Cal State University system chancellors and became a symbol of extravagance.

The Cal State trustees committee that set the price refused to publicly release an appraisal report, but sources said the document suggested that the two-acre property and 4,600-square-foot house are worth about $2.5 million. Some Cal State officials were disappointed because real estate agents previously estimated the hillside property along Stone Canyon Road could be worth up to $5 million.

Legislators were angered at the cost of upkeep at the house during the tenure of former chancellor W. Ann Reynolds. Trustees want to sell it and purchase a residence closer to the Cal State system’s Long Beach headquarters.